Kiss Me
by F.D. Tamms
Summary: Kiss me", he interrupted.


**This is my version of the encounter between Anthony and Johanna which occurred between "ladies and their sensitivities" and "epiphany". It is inspired mostly by the lyrics to the songs "ah, miss" and "kiss me", neither of which were included in the movie version of Sweeney Todd.**

Johanna sat idly by her window reading. The book, which wasn't particularly good, was the only thing she had to distract herself from an empty house and the prospect of being married to her "father" on the nearest possible day. It was a horrible thought, being married to someone she didn't love. True, the Judge had provided for her since she was a child. But he was so much older than she was, and, to be honest, she thought him a bit creepy.

Johanna had no aversion to the thought of marriage itself. If some young boy—for example, the one she had seen wandering beneath her window earlier in the week, who had been lovely and about her age—were to ask her to marry him, she would probably say "yes", provided her had a kind, honest soul. She smiled as she thought about the boy from the street. He had stared at her in complete awe, his jaw hanging open. But she would never see him again.

"Johanna!" The door burst open, revealing the boy from the street standing in her door frame.

"Wha—how did you get in here?" Johanna asked incredulously. But her incredulity quickly turned to horror as she realized the gravity of the situation. "You have to leave!" She hissed. She shut her book with a snap and leapt up to shove him out the door. "If the Judge finds out that you're here…"

"He's gone, though!" The boy chirped. "Oh, Johanna…" He spun out from her grasp and clasped her hands in his own. "I love you, Johanna," he said with such sincerity she felt her cheeks grow red.

When she opened her mouth to berate him for saying such things, something piqued her interest—there was a strange clicking noise outside her window. Could it be the Judge?

"Here! Behind here!" She ripped the curtain from her window and gestured towards it. "But why?" he asked. "Just do it!" She snapped.

"You are as clever as you are beautiful!" He cried as she shoved him behind it. "Be quiet!" She hissed.

Johanna strained her ears to listen for another sound but heard nothing. She concluded that she was being silly and her nerves were leading her to hear things. "Alright, you can come out now," she said to the boy. He emerged from behind the curtain, smiling contentedly. Johanna wondered if his brains were addled—if the person she was "in love" (for how could be in love with her when they had only just met?) with pushed her behind a curtain, she wouldn't come out smiling. "Johanna, the Judge shan't be home for ages," he murmured.

Johanna sighed. She was beginning to find the boy a little exasperating. "Please leave," she said as she sat down on her bed. She drew her knees up to her chest.

"But I love you," the boy said quietly. Johanna pressed her face into her knees. "You don't even know me," She said, her voice muffled by the fabric of her skirt. She felt the bed move as he sat beside her. "But I could," he said gently. "If you'd only let me," he added with a sigh.

Johanna looked up at him through her hair. "Even if I wanted to, the Judge would never allow it. He'll hurt you, just as he has hurt all the other foolish boys who decided to fall in love with me."

There hadn't been many boys—two or three, she thought. And each of them had seen her, as this boy had, through her window, and each of them had been frightened away by the Judge or the Beadle or both, never to return again.

This boy took one of Johanna's hands in his. She sat up straight and looked at him, her heart thumping madly as he held their hands to his chest. "He could hurt me, send me away, or even kill me," He whispered. Johanna felt the breath catch in her chest. "But I would always come back."

Johanna blushed again. "Then you're a fool," she murmured as she jerked her hand out of his grasp. "A stubborn, stupid—"

"Kiss me," he interrupted.

Her heart thudded against her ribcage. "What?" She asked, though she knew very well what it was he had asked—no, demanded—she do.

"Kiss me," the boy repeated. "Please," he added as an afterthought. "If you do, I shall leave you be and you won't ever have to worry about this stubborn, stupid fool again."

"I—no," Johanna said.

"But why not?" He asked, as though he had asked her to answer a simple math equation.

"Well for starters, I don't even know your name."

"That's easily fixed," he said with a shrug. "It's Anthony. Anthony Hope."

"Anthony…" She repeated. Then, realizing she was losing her resolve, she said "it's improper."

"No one would ever have to know it even happened," he said simply. "Please, kiss me."

"But I've never done any kissing before. I don't know what I'm doing," she tried.

Anthony grew slightly red. "I've never done any either," he admitted. "It doesn't matter."

Johanna was out of reasons. "Why do I have to kiss you? Why don't you just kiss me?"

At the look of surprise on his face she instantly regretted her words. "You mean you want me to kiss you?" Anthony asked hopefully.

"No, I…no, that's not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean?" Anthony asked. He seemed to be growing wary of Johanna's resistance to his advances.

"I…oh, I don't even know," she said, frustrated. "But I am not going to kiss you, so if any kissing is going to happen here tonight, then you must incur it."

"Johanna…"Anthony said slowly. He took her hands in his again and leaned slightly towards her. "Then I will do it. Is that alright with you?"

"Yes," Johanna said. But as Anthony leaned closer she jerked away from him. "I just can't!" She cried. "Please, just leave me—"

But she did not finish her sentence, for at that precise moment, Anthony pressed his lips to hers. Johanna's irritation melted away and she found that she had to grip the sheets of her bed to keep from toppling over. Her resolve was completely gone, now. Anthony broke their kiss quite quickly, leaving Johanna, lips slightly parted, sitting in a stupor. "Alright, then, I shall leave." Anthony said with a sigh.

"Wait!" Johanna cried. She felt that what she was about to say would incite raised eyebrows and maybe even a smirk, but it had to be said. "That was hardly a kiss. I mean…you shan't even remember that tomorrow. You should do it again. Longer this time, though."

Anthony—as she had predicted—raised his eyebrows at her. "Longer?" He repeated. Johanna blushed for the umpteenth time since he had arrived. "Longer," she whispered.

"Alright," Anthony said. He leaned in and kissed her again, his touch a little harder, more assured. Johanna's eyelids fluttered and, when they broke apart this time, she felt herself tug him back towards her.

They went on like that for several minutes, each time their kisses a little hungrier. When they broke apart for the final time, Johanna spoke to him softly. "I love you, Anthony Hope." She whispered. She leaned her head against his chest, savoring the scent of the fabric of his shirt. "I loved you even when I didn't know your name," she added. She felt silly and hypocritical. Hadn't she told him earlier that it was impossible to love someone you didn't know? But she loved Anthony, even though they had only just met.

"Then we shall be married," he said simply. "As soon as possible."

Johanna looked up at him. Her thoughts from earlier of marrying a boy with a kind, honest soul bubbled in her head. Anthony certainly fit the bill. "We can't," she said sadly. "The Judge has already proposed to me. We are engaged." It burned her throat to say the words. When Anthony didn't respond to this statement, her heart sunk for fear that he had given up on her. If he had, she couldn't blame him—who would be stupid enough to risk their life to be with the woman he loved?

"Then I shall steal you away from him," Anthony said firmly. "We'll leave tonight."

Her mouth opened in shock. "Tonight?" She repeated. "But where would we go?"

Anthony considered that for a moment. "I have a friend who lives on Fleet Street," he said finally. "We could run there, get everything settled, and then be off tomorrow. We could leave London. If you wanted, we could leave England and go to Paris. Or Spain. Or America."

Johanna stared at him, open-mouthed. "But…we don't know that your friend on Fleet Street will be able to accommodate us," she said.

"Then I shall go and make sure he can!" He said, leaping off the bed as he did so. Johanna watched as he ran to the door, a smile plastered to his face. "I'll see you later tonight."

"Wait!" Johanna called. She followed him to the door and stood beside him silently. "I'm not worth so much trouble," she said quietly.

One of his hands reached out to stroke her hair. "You are," he said simply. "And to think I've traveled the world to see incredible things when the most incredible of all was right here in London!"

Johanna smiled at this. She didn't know what he meant by "traveled the world", but she wagered that, should Anthony's plan work out, she would know soon enough. "Good luck," she said. They kissed once more, and when they broke apart, Anthony held her body close to his own.

"I'll take you away from here, Johanna. I promise," he whispered into her hair. Johanna nodded and watched as he rushed off down the hallway. Heart filled with hope, she began to pack.


End file.
